Category Archives: Shoot the Messenger

Marketing and advertising.

Eat this! It’ll make you doody!

Spotted in Boston at the Fenway Park subway station, a rather ill-advised ad for Chipotle burritos. Too bad the baseball wordplay means nothing, and doesn’t distract from the immediate associations the slogan suggests. Like: CLEAR THE ROOM. Or VOID YOUR BOWELS.

If you can’t read the fine print it says, “For best results, don’t get on the subway directly after eating.”

Fundraising the Old Fashioned Way, the New Fashioned Way

I don’t like panhandlers. Because they make me feel like a jerk. Because I’m usually too selfish/heartless/lazy/jaded to help them. And anyway, face to face interaction is so outdated. That’s why I like Craig Rowin’s direct but distant digital approach. Plus, when someone asks for anĀ (M)-note instead of a dollar it means that when I say “Sorry, guy, I don’t have it,” I’m not 100% lying. I can pat my pockets all I want. It’s not showing up. Ever.

That gives me an idea for a video.

Worst (Best) URL of the Week

I know I’ve been delinquent this week. And that this ought to be a Google Game. But this is worth it, I promise.

I was on the phone with Hertz rental car. Well, on hold with Hertz rental car, that is. And an automatic message was explaining to me all the better ways of dealing with Hertz than trying to get them on the phone. I could go online, the voice told me. Or, if I were on a smartphone, I could use their mobile site, by visiting
hertz 2 go.com.

Say that out loud.

Hertz. 2. Go.

I was cracking up when the operator finally came on the line. Where were your marketing people on that one? Freaking hilarious.

Not Above Laughing: Two Balls by Pino Luongo

Don’t even pretend you think that’s not freaking hilarious. Pino Luongo and two balls. Bahahahahaaa.

“You know, that’s a pretty normal Italian name,” said my father, embarrassed at my unbridled laughter as we exited the neighborhood restaurant selling these cookbooks.

“Pop, it says Pino Luongo and two meatballs on it. Give me a break. That’s fucking funny.”

“It says two meatballs?” He took a moment. “I did not notice that. You’re right. That’s fucking funny.”

Yeah. You heard it here. Pino Loungo and two meatballs. Fucking funny.

Why Carl Paladino Scares Me [Separated at Birth]

It’s not so much his policy ideas as his unnervingly gruff demeanor and striking resemblance to Oswald Cobblepot.

Hey, Carl, you weren’t raised in the sewers. How’s about a little polish on those public appearances? Our research tells us that voters like fingers:

Time(s) for the Weekend(er)

I never tire of watching 92Y’s brilliant parody of those insufferable New York Times Weekender ads. And neither will you:

It’s based on a couple TV spots in the NYTimes Weekender campaign. Unfortunately, I’ve never been able to find the full version of one of them. It’s a real shame, because there’s a lot of douche to enjoy. Perhaps you remember the I’m not a call now kind of guy guy. Oh! Hate you! After the jump, the best I could do to wrangle up the referents.

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Women’s Thoughts on Sexist Ads More Offensive than Ads Themselves

My brother sent me a link to some awesomely sexist magazine ads on icanhasinternets.com. So entertaining the mid-20th Century obsession with douching (if you don’t, he’ll leave you) and those starkly-drawn distinctions between the woman’s place in the home and the man’s place in the office. Or car. You look at these unbelievably offensive ads and think, Boy, have we come a long way.

Then you look at the comments and you take it back…

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It’s Always Sunny Sells Out in Season Six

When your favorite band — that one you knew since they pressed their first seven inch back in high school — sells out it’s easy to get a little outraged. And it feels entirely justifiable, in a music-snob, self-righteous kind of way. If you’re talking about a TV show, however, one on a mid-tier network that’s already in its sixth season, it’s harder to dignify indignation.

While I can appreciate Coors Light signing on to sponsor FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the product placement in last night’s season six premier was jarring. Between the Coors bottles, napkins and napkin holders, images of tapped Rockies were present in every shot from the bar.

Distracting for sure, but at least germane. When Dennis and Dee arrange a meeting with their high school crushes at a Subway, though, it’s just silly. The signage is absurd. And they’re there for breakfast. Breakfast? Even if there was some compelling reason within the show’s script to explain why they’d go to Subway, why the fuck would anyone — let alone two drunks without day jobs — go at breakfast?

Oh, that’s right:Ā 

Subtle.

Well, I guess It’s Always Sunny has never been about subtlety. Nor has the advertising world. So maybe it’s a perfect union. I’m sure the characters, our degenerate friends Dee, Dennis, Mac, Charlie and Frank, would sell out in a flash if given the chance.

(Mini review of the season opener: Good. Not amazing, but good. Frank asking the tranny if she had to sell her dick to China? Awesome.)

I Hate Your Body… of Work

The “I Love My Body” Victoria’s Secret campaign has been running for several months now, but I only just had the pleasure of catching one of the TV spots. You guys love your bodies, huh? Go fuck yourselves.

I know, I sound so typical, but I don’t even care. Seriously… just go fuck yourselves.

Sure, I get where you’re going: we should all love our bodies. And watching videos of supermodels explaining why they love theirs (1, 2, 3, 4) really makes me reflect on how I feel about mine. Truly inspiring, thanks. I have an idea for Vickie’s marketing staff. If you want your models to seem relateable, your next commercials should show them standing in front of the mirror pinching millimeters of belly skin and whining about their insecurities. Wow, models really are like the rest of us! That’ll make me a VS shopper for sure!

Assholes.